REM operator promises to improve communication after snowy weather brings service delays

The company that manages Montreal's new light-rail network says it's going to communicate better with users after a bumpy start to its first week of service during snowy weather.

Service on the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) was interrupted at 9 a.m. Friday for 45 minutes to allow Samuel de Champlain Bridge workers to clear snow from the structure's pylons.

Users were told about the break in service at 7:36 a.m. via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Updates were also posted to the rem.info website.

"It was communicated to us too late so that we could give enough notice to users," said CDPQ Infra's president and CEO, Jean-Marc Arbaud, at a news conference later that morning.

He says he's asked that maintenance work be done outside of peak commuting hours. CDPQ Infra also plans to incorporate a text alert feature for commuters in the coming weeks.

The company has received 563 complaints between the REM's inauguration at the end of July and Oct. 31, CBC learned through an access to information request. Most of those complaints were related to shutdowns, poor communication and infrastructure issues such as elevators and ticket distribution. 

On Oct. 31, dozens of passengers were stuck on the train, some for up to two hours, after service broke down with little insight into what was happening from REM authorities. 

Ready to face winter

Arbaud says CDPQ Infra has taken into account every meteorological scenario and that it's ready to face Montreal's winter. 

Trains are equipped with snow plows, heated windshields and ice scrapers to avoid any buildup on the cables. The train doors were also designed specifically for Montreal, according to Jennifer Guillette, the North American chief of services and operations for Alstom, the company that built the REM's rail cars. The design was changed so that snow and rocks stuck to passengers' boots don't interfere with the proper opening and closing of the doors. 

Platforms are also heated and fully enclosed thanks to automated doors that only open when the train pulls into the station. 

Service was delayed Monday morning after the doors failed to open because a train stopped a little further than it should have when it arrived at Gare Centrale.